Thursday, July 31, 2014

Happy Thurs-DIY everyone! If you're new here, this is my weekly catch up with my creative friends. People who make great stuff all the time. Hop around the web and say hello to them, they're all wonderful.

I show you how to make a NO SEW painted fabric rugs that will last forever and are super easy to clean. Just use fabric, acrylic coating and Americana Multi Surface Satin Paints.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u-R976ffzE

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Not long ago I was on the hunt for the perfect kitchen rug and couldn't find one to save my life! I finally decided to paint one on canvas and create another with printed fabric. I was a bit skeptical at first, but they've held up really well! They're easy to clean and look fantastic in my crazy kitchen AND they were NO SEW! BTW, if you have a rug that slips, you can use something called Extreme Tack from E-6000. It's amazing stuff that works like an extremely strong post-it note glue! Just squirt a few lines of it on the back of your rug, let it dry and you're good to go.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

I have TONS of glass candle tea light holders....Too many in fact! It was time to either get rid of some OR come up with a project for them. I finally decided on paperweights! Now if you're crafty you know that a good paperweight is always needed. I use them for holding fabric when I'm cutting AND for my stacks of papers which seem to fly away when the AC turns on. These are terrific because you can fill them with any image you want. Antique photos would be perfect for this project! Just make sure to copy them with a laser printer at a copy shop. If you use inkjet copies, you'll need to coat them on both sides with a clear acrylic.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

If you're heading to a big body of water this summer, you'll definitely want to make some snazzy chairs to mark your spot on the shore! These are basic beach chairs that sell at Target for 8 dollars each. With a little paint and trim, I turned them into the best seat on the beach! Use any motif from starfish to your initials. It's up to you. Just make sure wear sunblock, OK!

Not headed to the beach? Make them for the back yard and turn on the sprinklers!

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Today I'm sharing my ultimate shirt to skirt tutorial with a real sewn waistband. Most tutorials I see for these skirts have an elastic band, so I wanted to kick it up a notch. I'm also using two shirts instead of one for some added fullness. Depending on the size of the shirt, you can use either one or two shirts. It's up to you. The key is to use as much of the shirt fabric as you possibly can without wasting a scrap.

Watch the video tutorial here!

YOU'LL NEED

Two men's shirts

Sewing machine

Matching thread

1/4 yard iron on interfacing

E-6000 Stitch Less Iron On Glue

Scissors

Ruler

Straight pins

Iron

Cut the front of the shirt along the side seams, across the front right under the collar band and down the side seam again

Cut out the back of the shirt removing the stitched side seams, across the upper back and down the side again

Do this to both shirts

Cut off the tail and up the center back of both shirt backs

Cut a straight line from the hem of the shirt to the shoulder

Pin the two back pieces from one shirt to the sides of the front of the other shirt and stitch together using 1/2" seam allowance

*This is the skirt front

Cut off the button and buttonhole plackets on the other shirt, pin and stitch together to create one piece

Pin the back pieces from the other shirt to the sides of this piece and stitch together using 1/2" seam allowance

*This is the back of the skirt

Stitch the front and back together to create the skirt

Press all seams together and zigzag over each one to finish the raw edges

Gather the waist of the skirt to your waist size

Cut the sleeves apart at the seams, remove the cuff and iron flat

Measure a 3" wide strip down the center of each sleeve (this will be your waistband)

Stitch the two 3" wide strips together to create a long 3" strip

Measure your waist, add 1" and cut the long fabric strip to that size

(if your waist is 32", then cut the strip 33")

Cut an identical piece of iron on interfacing and iron it to the strip

Finish one edge of the waistband with a zigzag stitch

Pin the raw edge of the waistband to the gathered waist of the skirt (right sides together) leaving a 1/2" overlap on both sides

Stitch the waist band to the skirt using 1/2" seam allowance

Fold the waistband over (right sides together) and stitch the 1/2" overlap on each end of the skirt

Cut the corner at an angle and flip right side out

Press the waistband into place

You will now be hiding the gathering of the skirt inside the waist band

Stitch over the waistband, trapping the gathering inside and catching the finished edge of the waistband on the inside of the skirt

Add a buttonhole above the line of buttonholes in the center front

Stitch on a button

Hem the skirt by turning the hem 1/4" and then 1/4" again

*This is called a turn and turn hem

If you don't want to hem, you can always use E-6000 Stitch Less Iron on glue and iron your hem in place

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Need some fun summer trays for your outdoor dining? These couldn't be easier to make! Standard 18" table rounds and thin metal spoons for handles and you're halfway there. I dyed the wood with RIT Liquid Dye which works wonderfully as a wood stain. Make sure to check out the RIT studio for tons of other ways to use RIT!

About Me

Thank's for stopping by! Every day I strive to make the world a better place through creativity. I'm a Designer, TV Host and Best-Selling Author. I write THE BIG-ASS CRAFT BOOK series (Simon & Schuster) which are the best selling craft books in the US. I've worked in television for over 12 years on shows like While You Were Out-TLC, 10 YearsYounger-TLC, She's Moving In-WEtv, My Celebrity Home-Style, Tony Danza-ABC, My Home 2.0-FOX, and currently Make Your Mark! for PBS/APT. I am a Creative Consultant for DecoArt and a Creative Director for Eclectic Products, makers of E-6000. You can see me weekly on YouTube and can always reach me at MarkMontanoNYC@aol.com. I'd love to hear from you!